I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 508 Liaodong
In Luoyang, Liu Bian looked at the things Wang Can sent back and burst out laughing.

Wang Can went to investigate the old case of Xu You, but he didn't make any progress in his main business. However, when he was investigating the real situation of the local land for Liu Bian, he was able to remind him of things that Liu Bian didn't notice.

Especially the treatment of tenants.

At a time when land annexation was serious, the existence of tenants was inevitable. It was simply unrealistic to fight among landlords and divide the land at this time, because Liu Bian himself was the largest landlord in the world.

Wang Can gave Liu Bian a way to encourage landlords to actively adjust the division of land without using coercive means - competition.

Immigration work cannot stop!
Moreover, the places where people can immigrate are not limited to the South where northerners may not adapt to the climate.

For example, in Youzhou, although the grain yield per mu is not enough to compare with that in the south due to the climate, these places have few people and abundant land because of the Xianbei's long-term border raids.

Now that the Han army has grown stronger, people can be relocated to the border areas to settle down.

At least according to the data of land measurement in Youzhou, counties such as Shanggu County and Youbeiping County, which used to face frequent attacks from Xianbei and Wuhuan, had a population of less than 100,000 after land measurement.

Of course, Shanggu and Youbeiping are already the two counties with the least population in Youzhou.

As far as the entire Youzhou is concerned, it is more than enough to arrange another million people.

However, Youzhou is close to the border after all, so it needs to implement more preferential immigration policies.

By then, if more places are developed for farming and immigration, tenants who lack assets can enjoy market competition with the support of state-owned enterprises.

Not to mention reducing the share of land rent to the same level as the military farming in the Three Auxiliary Prefectures, at least increasing it by half as the Cai family did, Liu Bian felt that there was still a chance to do it.

With this thought in mind, Liu Bian looked at the map of Youzhou.

He vaguely recalled that during the period when Liu Yu was in charge of Youzhou, he accepted many exiled people and scholars from all over the country and allowed them to live and work in Youzhou.

Thinking about it this way, Liu Yu’s value is still increasing.

The only thing to worry about is that Liu Yu has been in Youzhou for too long.

……

Just when Liu Bian was thinking about Youzhou, Zhao Yun, the captain of the Wuhuan Guard who was preparing troops in Liaoxi County, suddenly received a report from his subordinates saying that Liaodong County was attacked by Goguryeo in the east, and Liaodong Prefect Zou Jing sent an envoy to ask for help.

When Zhao Yun heard the news for the first time, he couldn't believe it.

After serving as the commander of the Wuhuan Guard, he quickly gained understanding of the surrounding forces with the help of Yan Rou sent by Liu Yu.

In his mind, Goguryeo was just a small country. How dare he provoke the Han Dynasty?

Not only Zhao Yun, but even Yan Rou, who was well-informed about Liaodong affairs, was puzzled.

But Yan Rou immediately realized the opportunity.

He said to Zhao Yun: "Captain, now is the time to make achievements!"

"Although Goguryeo was a small country in the past, it was respectful to our Han Dynasty and paid tribute every year. Now that he dares to send troops to attack Liaodong, we have a reason to attack him."

"And the captain has been preparing for war since last year. Now is the time! Captain, this is a great achievement in expanding our territory!"

However, the reason why Zhao Yun is the loyal and courageous Zhao Zilong is that he would never miss his main task because of fame and fortune.
He said to Yan Rou: "Goguryeo has always been submissive, but now it is acting abnormally. There must be a reason."

"Either something is going on in Goguryeo or something is going on in Liaodong County."

Speaking of this, Zhao Yun thought of what Yan Rou had introduced to him before - there was a big family in Liaodong called Gongsun.

Moreover, he heard that due to the large population in Liaodong, land measurement faced considerable resistance...

He couldn't help but wonder if it was related to the powerful families colluding with foreign enemies?

Yan Rou suggested: "Captain, now that something is happening in Liaodong, why not lead your troops to Liaodong to investigate first, and at the same time report to Liu Youzhou in writing."

"Whether there is something going on in Goguryeo or Liaodong, we will know once we go there." After thinking about it, Zhao Yun felt that what Yan Rou said made sense.

Ever since he met the emperor last year, Zhao Yun has been ready to send troops to quell the rebellion at any time.

This move made the land measurement work in Liaoxi County where he worked go very smoothly, although land measurement was not difficult in Liaoxi County, which was vast and sparsely populated.

Nowadays, if you want to send troops, you can do so almost on the same day.

However, Zhao Yun still stayed for another day to make arrangements for what would happen after he left.

The next day, he set out with Yan Rou and Tadun, the leader of the Wuhuan tribe in Liaoxi.

He led more than 3,000 cavalrymen, except for 500 of his own soldiers, the rest were all Wuhuan people.

Zhao Yun had already established his prestige among the Wuhuan people and was not worried, and Yan Rou had always been on good terms with the Wuhuan people.

Because the incident happened suddenly, Zhao Yun did not waste time and arrived in Liaodong within a few days.

Then he saw that the people of Liaodong were in good order and not at all panicked by the attack.

When he asked the county magistrates of the counties he passed through, he learned that Goguryeo had indeed attacked Liaodong County, but withdrew directly after the battle.

The county magistrate didn’t know more.

The Goguryeo people just ran away after fighting?

Although Zhao Yun did not understand the inside story, he felt that since he was already here, he might as well bring his troops to help the Liaodong governor to promote the smooth progress of the land measurement work.

So he continued to lead his troops forward.

Fortunately, he didn't walk for too long before he received someone sent by the governor of Liaodong.

"Your humble servant Tian Shao is the Gongcao of Liaodong County. I am here to welcome the captain on the orders of the Lord."

Tian Shao came from a noble family in Liaodong and was a famous scholar in the county. When Zhao Yun heard this name, he thought of what Yan Rou had told him.

Zhao Yun learned more detailed information from Tian Shao.

Liaodong Governor Zou Jing and Zhao Yun were equally puzzled by Goguryeo's attack.

When Xuantu County was still in existence, Goguryeo would often invade. Later, Xuantu County surrendered, and the Han Dynasty sent troops to fight with Goguryeo again, killing hundreds of people, and then Goguryeo became obedient.

I never thought it would suddenly jump out now.

The people of Goguryeo were ferocious, strong, accustomed to fighting and fond of plundering. When Liaodong Governor Zou Jing first saw that the Goguryeo people were coming in a menacing manner, he was worried that the Liaodong County soldiers alone would not be able to protect the people, so he sent a letter to Zhao Yun for help. Later, when he saw that the Goguryeo people had retreated, he was worried that they would return.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun asked, "Have you sent an envoy to Goguryeo to question its king?"

Tian Shao replied: "They have been sent out, but they have not returned yet."

Zhao Yun thought for a moment and replied, "Let's go meet Lord Zou first, and then we can make plans."

Tian Shao agreed when he heard this, and provided Zhao Yun's army with food and other supplies, and led them to meet Zou Jing.

Liaodong Prefect Zou Jing had previously served as the Northern Army Lieutenant and Imperial Chariot Captain, and in terms of seniority, he was higher than Zhao Yun.

Moreover, Zhao Yun was not a narrow-minded person, and he was not ashamed or annoyed that Zou Jing would come to greet him in person.

When Zhao Yun met Zou Jing, he saw that the other party was very happy and said to Zhao Yun: "There is a problem in Goguryeo. This is a godsend opportunity!"

Zhao Yun understood it at a glance and realized that this was another person who was eager for military merit.

(End of this chapter)